Finch shock league leaders

Published 22 Jul 2010 10:00 0 Comments

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FINCHAMPSTEAD knocked Thame Town off top spot to claim their second successive victory in Home Counties Premier League Division Two West.

They won by three wickets at home, allowing rivals Reading to return to the summit after their success against Beaconsfield.

Back-to-back wins have also eased Finch's relegation worries and taken them up to sixth place in the table.

Joint-skipper Russell Lane said: "It was a great feeling and it is nice to get the result our performance deserved.

"We played very well to beat Dinton the previous week and we carried that on against Thame.

"It was an excellent all-round performance and good for our confidence. Now the challenge is to see if we can make it three out of three."

Thame beat Finch by four wickets in the second game of the season and became runaway leaders of the division. However, they have since lost players and have been on the slide in recent weeks.

Last weekend, they were skittled for just 140 by an excellent Finch bowling attack, despite putting on 65 for the first wicket.

But Pratik Patel (49) and Michael Beard fell in quick succession before the visitors slumped to 115-5 after a second run-out and two wickets for Sam Taylor.

Then Sam Cheetham helped polish them off with 3-21 from 10 overs while Anthony Parsons claimed two victims as the last five Thame wickets produced just 25 more runs.

That left Finch needing 141 to win from 59 overs but they got off to a nervous start and were 76-4 with Lane, fellow joint-skipper Matt Jones, Simon Bell and Andrew House back in the pavilion.

That brought talented teenager Dan Lincoln to the crease and he showed maturity beyond his years once again with a match-winning knock.

He steadied the ship with a 39-run stand for the fifth wicket with Charlie Alexander. And while Finch continued to lose batsmen, Lincoln stayed there to craft a crucial 55.

It was left to Sam Cheetham and Andrew Douglas to knock off the remaining 24 runs to clinch the hard-earned win and another maximum-points haul.

Finch host Falkland this Saturday and Lane stated: "With such a young side, the early season was always going to be tough with so many players at university.

"But things are better now and we're looking up the table. It's still mathematically possible to win the league or go down, it's that close."

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